Yesterday saw more high scoring games in IPL 2026 meaning that the leaderboard in IPL Boundary Blackjack continues to be very tight.

With 3 games left in this round, will that pattern continue or is there a sting in the tail with a low scorer around the corner. Let's find out...

LSG v GT

First up, it's the battle of the new(er) franchises in LSG and GT, the 2 sides who earlier this week came out on the right side of dramatic final ball finishes - more of that please!

The Titan's batted well in their last outing against DC. In my preview of that game, I'd questioned whether Washington Sundar was really up to the task of batting at number 4 in the IPL and he went out to prove me wrong by scoring a maiden half-century in his 69th match.

He clearly has the backing of the Titan's management team and that can only help a player who has been shifted up and down the order at 3 previous franchises before his move to Gujarat.

Above him Shubman Gill returned to fitness and scored a fluent 70 odd while Jos Buttler's 52 from 27 was probably the best he's struck the ball since IPL 2025.

All in all, it's been a slow start for the Titan's and that dramatic win on Thursday was their first of the season. However, as we see time and time again in tournaments of any sport, it's so often the team that peaks at the right time that claims ultimate victory.

The worry is that it should have been a far more comfortable victory for Gujarat. When KL Rahul was out, DC needed 45 from the last 3 overs. Rabada restricted them to 9 off the 18th over meaning 36 needed from 12 balls. Siraj and Prasidh Krishna both looked like deer in the headlights as Miller made his charge and but for a complete brain fade on his part and the quick thinking of Jos Buttler, the game would have been lost.

As the stats above show, GT's seamers are going for easy runs at the moment, unlike their counterparts in LSG who once again bowled well to restrict KKR in their last match.

Mohammed Shami was part of the Titans side that was so successful in their initial couple of campaigns and his powerplay wickets were a major factor in that succcess. On paper, you've got 2 teams who can make in roads into each others top orders, the side that successfully does so, will put themselves in a very strong position to win this game.

That is particularly true considering the lack of form of many of the middle order batters on both sides.

Nicolas Pooran's barren runs continues while Glenn Phillips has played several scrathcy innings to date. Can his electric performances in the field keep him in the side?

The hero from Thursday's win for LSG was of course young Mukul Choudhary who hit a brilliant 54 not out under immense pressure. As he's Indian, finishing like that will bring obvious comparisons to the great MS Dhoni. The challenge for him will be to do it consistently and against better teams than the current KKR bowling line-up.

The last match here in Lucknow produced just 32 boundaries as the home side were skittled for 141. Does that make it a poor pitch or just a poor batting performance?

Personally, I think it's a bit of both! I don't think we're going to get a run fest here today but I also don't think it's a 140 all out pitch (is there such a thing?).

MI v RCB

This is a biggy!

2 of the glamour sides in the IPL with massive fan bases, choked full of local legends and international stars. What's more, they both really need a win!

Unusually for MI, they started their campaign with a victory but have since slipped into a familiar pattern of struggling to get out of first gear in the early stages of an IPL season.

RCB's last game out was, in my opinion, the match of the tournament so far. For about threee quarters of the game it felt like every ball was either a boundary, a wicket or at least a chance of one. Like true champions, they almost fought their way back into it thanks to some canny bowling from Krunal Pandya - I think seeing a left arm spinner being called '2 for the over' after bouncing Jadeja twice in a row, is one of the funniest things I've seen on a cricket pitch.

Still, a defeat in this game would mean that RCB lose touch with the run away leaders in PBKS and RR. Top 4 is good enough for the playoffs but everyone wants one of those top 2 places to ensure a double chance at making the final.

MI's batsmen have shown glimpses of what they are capable of but to date, they've failed to put together a really complete performance. They do of course have options! QdK and Will Jacks (both former RCB players) are sitting on the bench and could make an impact in this one.

With the ball in hand it's a familiar problem. Outside Bumrah, who is making an impact? You can see from the stats above that 3 of their best defensive bowlers to date have been spinners but I doubt that they'll bowl many overs here at the Wankhede.

MI have taken just 2 powerplay wickets in their opening 3 matches, both against DC and 1 of those was a run out! If they can't get into this RCB batting line-up early then they might find themselves chasing the ball to all parts later in the innings.

RCB haven't had any such issues. Josh Hazlewood returned for them last time out as they continued to take wickets in the powerplay. They were hamstrung against RR by their need to bring in an extra batter as the impact sub as opposed to the usual bowling option. On current form, MI are unlikely to be able to apply that kind of pressure.

That they had an off day against the Royal and still managed to score over 200 shows the power that this RCB line-up possesses. I think they'll be keen to right the wrongs of that performance in this game.

The Wankhede is a brilliant venue for T20 cricket! We saw 65 boundaries here in the opening match against KKR this season, that of course following on from the run fest in the World Cup semi-final at the same ground.

We do know there will be something in the wicket early on for the bowlers and both these teams have the personnel to exploit that. Get through that period though and the runs will begin to flow!

IPL Boundary Blackjack Round 3

Still only 1 bust so far this round.

Players are getting better at guessing but at the same time, this round hasn't provided a low score yet. Could a sucker punch shake things up at the top of the table? Or is it just time to go big or go home?

Position	Player	Points	Hits	Busts
1	@uwelang	194	4	0
2	@sportsgeek	178	4	0
3	@shitsignals	174	4	0
4	@blockchainfpl	166	4	0
5	@fullcoverbetting	164	4	0
6	@r1c4rd0	153	4	0
7	@rajpootg	153	4	0
8	@wildlifelover	146	4	0
9	@imfarhad	140	4	0
10	@hatdogsensei	133	4	0
11	@onemanonewrite	130	4	0
12	@talesfrmthecrypt	128	3	0
13	@blanchy	124	4	0
14	@bitandi	122	4	0
15	@tortangkahoy	108	4	0
16	@valentin86	106	2	1
17	@shebe	96	3	0
18	@doombot75	90	2	0
19	@tsnaks	0	0	0
20	@reiseamateur	0	0	0